The Manassas man stood below the climbing wall, itching to start his ascent toward his son, Donald, who was already more than halfway up.

Harms didn't want to make the climb to help Donald, but instead to experience the moment with him. Father and son, together.

Meanwhile, on the viewing deck above the wall at James Madison University's UREC Center, a crowd began to gather, drawn in by the events unfolding below. It most likely appeared more dangerous than it was, but for the group of people that now stood two rows deep it was pretty scary looking.

Donald Harms has cerebral palsy, affecting all four of the 21-year-old man's limbs. His body is curved, forcing him to bend forward, the result of kyphosis and scoliosis. He has severe joint contractures.

It took much effort from Donald Harms, several volunteers and his family to get him out of his wheelchair, into the harness and up the wall.

The smile on Donald Harms's face — for the most part he's non-verbal — made it pretty evident he was enjoying the experience, but, as he was dangling from the side of the wall, it was also apparent to most of those watching that it was time to come down.

One of the volunteers was exhausted from the trip up. She needed off the wall. That's when Michael Harms jumped in.

This is nothing new for the Harmses.

"Wild and fun, in a great way," was how Michael Harms described his family of five.

In 2010, without any children at the time, Michael and Hope Harms hiked the northern half of the Appalachian Trail, finishing at Mount Katahdin in Maine. The year before, the couple had hiked the southern half from Georgia to Pennsylvania.

At the time they finished the first half, they had resigned their jobs as special education teachers in Manassas and were living in a friend's basement, saving up money to finish the trail and do some international traveling.

But somewhere in between the two hikes, the Harmses met Donald. He was living in West Haven Children's Home in Copse, Jamaica. Michael and Hope had traveled there as volunteers. There was an instant connection.

"We immediately knew that he was our son," Michael Harms said.

After several more trips to Jamaica to visit Donald, the connection grew. Whenever the couple would leave, Donald would begin crying. Workers at the home told them that they had never seen Donald cry before and he would remain upset for weeks following their departure.

The Harmses began the process of adopting Donald, a process that lasted more than two years. And there were concerns if it was the right thing to do.

"The biggest one was would he be OK with uprooting everything he's ever known," Michael Harms said. "We didn't want to just assume that he would like it here more with us."

Plus, while both Michael and Hope had worked in special education classes, neither had cared for someone with special needs on a permanent basis. That was a little scary.

"We treated it as if it was a choice, but in reality it never really felt like it was a choice," Michael Harms said. "It was sort of like, that's our son, so whatever challenges lay ahead that's just what we have to face."

Finally, five years ago, the adoption went through and Donald came home to Manassas with his new parents.

Within three months, the family was taking a cross country road trip, camping in their tent along the way. In South Dakota's Badlands National Park, a microburst — Michael Harms described it as a mini tornado — uprooted the tent and sent water rushing in at the family. That was at 3 in the morning.

Throughout, Donald just laughed. And when it was over, he was ready for more camping.

Since adopting Donald, both Michael and Hope Harms have gone back to teaching. Michael is a math special ed teacher at Manassas Park Middle School. Hope teaches art at Manassas Park High School.

And the adventures haven't stopped.

"We just have to get really creative sometimes to make sure that Donald can be included," said Michael, who has run a marathon while pushing Donald in a wheelchair.

This past weekend, the family — now with two additional sons, born since the Harmses adopted Donald — was in Harrisonburg for James Madison University's Overcoming Barriers Empowerment3 Ability Olympics.